Do you use forum sigs for marketing, what have been your most effective designs that attract the most attention/clicks?
A slightly different font works, but I haven't tested colors. Also, for my line of work, taking part in political or religious discussions always increases click-throughs. BUT--it decreases conversions and conversion rates. Oh yeah--misspellings will decrease your conversions and traffic. I guess that's not strictly information on signatures, but it kind of goes hand-in-hand. Your post is going to determine more than the signature design itself.
I know you asked for "most effective designs".... but I find helpful and informative posts drive the most clicks to a signature
The most effective sigs are always bright and contrast coloured. If forum provides an opportunity to change the size and colour of sig - it's great. Visitors always pay attention to something that is not usual
Ummm marketing and form sigs do not go hand in hand to be honest. Forum sigs will drive untargeted traffic for the most part but I would not in any way say... that it is a form of marketing.
I'd have to disagree with that. I've gotten some of my biggest clients through my forum signature. When you can demonstrate that you know your subject (your line of work) through forum posts, you WILL get targeted traffic. But simple posts like "yeah, great post" won't cut it. Incidentally, I myself have also looked for and hired designers and programmers by clicking on their signatures.
Short and concise works. Really depends if your signature catches the readers attention. It can be flash with blinking fonts, but that does not necessarily mean that it will hit an interest of someone reading your post.
Forum signatures are certainly a type of marketing. If you are a member of a forum that is in the same niche as your website and good forum signature can drive a fair amount of targeted traffic to your website. While it is not the most effective marketing method, it is certainly a good way to get the word out about a new website!
The biggest thing in getting signature marketing to work for you is the quality responses you give. If you give informative and helpful information to the forum readers, you are bettering your chances of them clicking on one of your signature links. Leaving short, little one liners that amount to as much as a pile of crap left by my dog will not help your signature marketing efforts. People come to forums for information, to learn something new or to figure out their problem. Help them along with the other people reading and your signature can work. I find brighter, bolder colors work best because it stands out to the readers eye. Been testing centering my signature link vs. using the standard left aligning.